The next day was as busy as the day before. The kitchen installation and finishings were being completed, so V suggested that the children - along with their nanny, and eager assistant and driver, Antoine - stay over at "Auntie Di". And since Di's bungalow was now completely furnished and she had finished settling in, it was time to test how it will hold up to the "James and Rose" Seal of Approval.

Once the twins were settled, V invited his mate to go to town and choose what other gadgets, decor, and items the new house may need. She had agreed, with the condition that all her purchases would still be included in the housing grant, and was now ushered into the passenger's seat by her very attentive and attractive boss/friend.

Soon, they were already busily going from store to store in a more affluent shopping center. Everyone who noticed them could easily say that they were indeed a couple. They easily laughed and talked and were so comfortable in each other's company. There was no way that the attraction and sexual tension between them could be hidden from even the most casual bystander.

  "Elena, it's time for lunch. Do you mind us extending this 'friendly' date for just a while longer so we can eat at another highly recommended restaurant?"

"V, this is like déjà vu, and it's not the good kind. Remember, we shopped and ate, and when I went home, something bad happened?"

"Well, it will be different this time, I promise."

* * *

"Hey everybody, I'd like you all to meet my elder brother Ma'Heron," announced Di, as she led her brother and his wife into the living room of her new home.

A small crowd of two adults (Nella and Antoine) and two babies (James and Rose) greeted the newcomers. Diwa walked over to where Aaron was standing. The Beta already had poured wolf wine for four, and he handed her a crystal wine glass of the strong, red drink.

After the introductions, the babies, the nanny, and the driver settled back to watching programs on the gigantic LED TV. Ma'Heron and Alexia chose to join the two lovebirds who were at the other end of the room. They, too, were each handed a half-filled glass.

"The women are now with the other neighbors. Also, I saw his car already parked in front of the Luna's house. He's nowhere in sight so I think he's already doing the deed," says Ma'Heron in the softest volume he can muster.

"I'll call V now. Hope their shopping is done," murmured Aaron, making sure the nanny and the children didn't hear him.

"So, who'll stay with your visitors while we're outside?" 

"I'll stay. I don't think you need me for that 'meeting' anyway. But I truly wish you luck, and may the goddess bless you all."

  * * *

The Moroccan restaurant was not far from the shopping complex. It was only about five minutes via V's favorite car.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Reigel. Table for two?"

"Good afternoon, Jaul. Yes, please."

They were taken to one of the corners of the fashionably decorated restaurant. The scent of spices was so inviting that Siel's mouth was watering just from the aroma.

"Jaul, do you have my favorite wine for chicken? The Campofiorin?

"Yes, sir, we do."

"Excellent! Please, bring us the bottle. Also, a serving each of your famous cinnamon chicken with a side of couscous and saffron."

"Wonderful choice, Sir. I'll send the order to the kitchen and be right back with your wine," the host said with a smile.

"I really hope you enjoy the food. This dish is one of my favorites."

"Well, the last time with the duck, everything was delicious."

"I know, I have good taste," he said, winking at her while flirtatiously hinting at his double entendre. He was rewarded with her shy smile.

After lunch was done, their host brought a couple of glass cups with a very aromatic, genuine Moroccan mint tea and a small jar of honey to sweeten it. All the tastes and aftertastes of the food had been amazing. Along with the company, the wine… how easy it was to be happy with him.

And yet the memory of a recent painful experience wouldn't leave her alone…

"V, I really want us to go home now if that's alright with you."

"Elena, please trust me. There is another surprise coming up, and I don't want to pre-empt it by going home too early."

"Oh no, V. I hope this doesn't end up with another fight between you and my ex-husband like last time."

"No comment. And there's the signal I'm waiting for. My friend's call. Alright, let's go home now, Elena. And while you're at it, please run the security app that I asked you to install last night on your phone."

Siel was suddenly nervous because of what V just said. But she also felt relief at the thought that Jonah couldn't harm her in any way as long as her boss was with her.

In the car, she looked at the app, watched the live feed and gasped in shock…

Damn him! And he had the nerve to blame V?!

* * *

Damn those guys! Why didn't they steal from her house last night as I told them to? And where the hell are they! They won't even answer their phone! Well, if they won't do what I f**king told them to do, I'd better do it myself!

Jonah's phone rang as he piled on the last few presents inside his car. Somehow, he was able to make the tree fit into the trunk, even if a large part of it was still sticking out, but the gifts were now compressed and overcrowding his passenger seat.

He looked at the screen and laughed, sounding half-crazed. 

"Hello there, Siel. Where are you?"

"Shopping. Where the hell are you?"

"I'm… uh… at a friend's house."

"Which friend's?"

"Uhhh Mike's… He needed me to help him move his stuff 'cause he's relocating."

"No, you're not."

"Wait, are you calling me a liar?" huffed Jonah while stuffing more boxes into his vehicle.

"Yes, I'm calling you a liar. Because I can see what you're doing!"

"And what the hell do you mean by that?" asked the ex-husband, easily shifting into his furious and demanding tone.

"We're driving towards my house right now, and I can see what you're doing at this very moment, Jonah! With my own two eyes! WHAT THE HELL?!"

Oh shit!

The man's gaze automatically shifted to the gate in front of the residential complex, and sure enough, there was the CEO's car going through it. He could even make out the infuriated look on his ex-wife's face from that distance.

"You better tell me the truth, Jonah! Or I swear…" she yelled, still on the phone.

"There's nothing to explain, baby. Look, I'm just gonna hide these from you guys and bring them back in time for Christmas. It was gonna be a surprise!"

At this point, her call ended, and V's car is now parked at the opposite side of the road parallel to his vehicle…

And a very angry Siel - followed by a grim-faced V - was now bounding towards him, looking more and more enraged by the second. And this side of Siel is actually the bully ex-husband's kryptonite, one of the reasons why he would use domestic violence as a last resort.

Too bad for him, he couldn't beat her up while a bigger man than he is was right beside her, who's obviously in a fighting mood judging from his eyes and stance…

And the look on V's face was daring him to do anything that he will regret.

"JONAH! Don't you DARE call me baby... What the HELL ARE YOU DOING?! THE TRUTH!" screamed Siel into his face while acting as if she was taller than him.

How he wanted to slap her for using that tone on him, but he could feel V's burning gaze on him. He couldn't help but think of the scene inside that office in Silvercrest and instantly realized that this CEO could rip him to shreds so effortlessly…

Wait… but can he really?

"Siel, listen to me… I can explain this. I'm taking these away… and all of you… to somewhere safe. I found out that your boss has a deep, dark secret that will put YOU ALL IN DANGER!"

Jonah's speech was interrupted by a pair of clapping hands. Both he and his ex-wife looked at the source of the sound and saw a smirking V in the middle of a sarcastic slow clap.

"Deep, dark secret, huh? Well… what about we talk about YOUR deep, dark, secret Jonah? Or maybe better yet, we take it straight from the horses' mouths."

And that's when the asshole realized that a group of women was walking towards him with a few other people behind them. The thing was, he may not know the ones at the back, but he definitely knew the five infuriated females rushing towards him.

"I'm sure you know Ms. Lyn Sterling, Ms. Nerissa Millano, Ms. Katherine Solaire, Ms. Cecilia Montez, and Ms. Hannah Hoftman, right? Or will you even dare deny knowing them just to save your skin?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, V!"

And an openhanded slap lands on Jonah's face stops him midsentence…

"Putang-ina mo, hayop ka! You destroyed my life, Jonah!" screeched his attacker

"And mine too, you asshole!"

"Double that for me, you fucking dickface!"

"Don't you dare deny who I am after what you did to me, you awful excuse of a man!"

"Just try and say that again, you bastard, and that slap Lyn gave you will be like a mom spreading baby powder on her kid's bottom compared to what I'll do to you!"

Jonah was shaking and totally red in the face, but not from anger. He did try to fake a livid tone to intimidate his audience, "I can sue you bitch for laying a hand on me! And every one of you for bullying me!"

"Don't bother. They already agreed to file a case against you," said a monotonous but grim voice at the back.

The speaker squeezed politely through the crowd of women and handed Jonah a brown envelope filled with sheets of paper. The abuser's face now reflected more fear than the fake anger he had a while ago and he now started to tremble inwardly.

"Let's see, assault, domestic violence, hmmm… rape, oh yes, burglary… extortion and my all-time favorite, quite a HUGE number of blackmail cases…"

"I don't know who you are, mister, but you're making a mistake if you're taking that fucker's side!" motioned Jonah towards Vince, who was still standing guard beside Siel.

"I AM taking his side. Atty. Ma'Heron Denar, at HIS service.

And yes, you will find a warrant of arrest in that envelope as well. Officers, take him away."

And on cue, a couple of tall Thor-like cops showed up from behind Jonah while a police car hidden from view behind some foliage at another house drove onto the road. Above the short siren sound, you would hear the clink of handcuffs…

"WAIT! HOLD ON! I may be lying about a lot of things, but SIEL! Siel, listen to me… YOUR NEW LOVER IS A MONSTER! HE'S A WEREWOLF, AND I HAVE PROOF! I swear to God I have A VIDEO OF HIM TRANSFORMING INTO A WEREWOLF!"

A few seconds of silence…

Then the females started to laugh… followed by Ma'Heron, yes, a few in the group actually stared at him to make sure he wasn't a clone or interdimensional parallel that got lost in our multiverse. Then Alexia and Aaron… V and Siel were soon laughing too… and so were the cops…

"Yeah riiight, that's what he told my new boyfriend too so he would break up with me. AHAHAHAHA!"

"And he was extorting money from my new BF because he was blackmailing him too. The guy is a vampire, he tells me! And so, what if he is, ahahaha? Of course, that isn't true."

"Damn, you're a piece of work Jonah, you actually have the guile to call a billionaire a werewolf! Ahahaha! You aren't happy with the big ass monthly stipend you get from my own wealthy hubby, huh?! Just so you would leave us alone?! HAH!"

"We all have their testimonies in the police reports. And yes, it's all included in that envelope I gave you," Ma'Heron flatly stated while instantly losing his smile, truly resembling an older male version of Wednesday Adams. "And about that 'video'… you entered a place in our building that would automatically erase digital recordings within the room. A former corrupt employee installed it in his office just so he could avoid getting caught on camera when he made his underhanded deals. However, we do have the audio of your conversation. That can easily be added as secondary evidence against you."

"You were so overconfident of that video, it seems like you haven't even checked it at all, have you Jonah?" drawled a still chuckling V. "Oh and if you even try to get near any of these lovely ladies, including Elena and your kids, you will be arrested for going against restraining orders that have been recently approved by the courts.

"That's also in that envelope you have right there," the lawyer stated, his voice and face still unreadable.

"Come on, you punk. You're gonna wait for your day at court in jail, Not unless you have someone to bail you out causse even your buddies are there too. And they're singing long and strong about how you ordered them to steal from this house!"

"Wait, NO! I'm telling you the truth! He's really a werewolf! HE REALLY IIIIIISSSS!"

"Head down and shut up or I'm putting duct tape on your mouth!" yelled the cop who sat beside Jonah as he shut the car door.

The other cop, obviously the driver, shook hands with V. "Thanks for bringing him in. I'm married myself, as you well know, Alpha. I feel a little better when we get scum like him off the streets."

Siel's eyes narrowed a bit, Alpha? Wait, isn't that term used for…

"Well, Norris, you and your partner Moore did a great service today. Keep it up."

The cop slightly nodded at V as he lumbered back to the police car. V's eyes then shifted to his Elena's, catching that slight hint of apprehension in them.

"Elena, is there a problem?"

"V, can we talk inside the house before I go pick up my babies from Di's place?"

Vince shivered a little at the sudden coldness of his mate's tone, Oh Goddess, what did I do now?

* * *

Meanwhile, Ma'Heron and his wife had already gone back to Di's house, and it was the sister's turn to come out into the road. She went straight to him at the sight that greeted her. A bit of her jealous side peeked out upon seeing her Aaron being surrounded by buxom beauties, some in get-ups that can cause driving accidents.

Aaron welcomed her with a wide smile, "Ladies, I'd like to introduce to you all, my beloved, my true love, and the one love of my life. Di, our new partner in our fight against Jonah." He then placed his arm around her and kissed her on the cheek.

"Oh my gosh! She's so pretty! No wonder he wouldn't jump when I offered."

"Wow, she's so sexy! You did the right thing being faithful to her."

"I wouldn't be disloyal to her either if I was in your shoes.

You're right, she's a treasure!"

Di's face was as puzzled as her tone, "Well uhhh… thank you for the compliments, ladies… I uhhh don't understand what's happening though…"

Aaron was smiling widely now, "Oh, you can ask your brother if you want because he put me up to this. Ladies, excuse us, please. If you will walk towards that house with the open door and the red sports car, your chauffeur will be there. He's the one assigned to get you back home."

The ladies went, twittering away at each other gushing over the exciting event that had just happened to them. Di and Aaron, meanwhile, shared a long passionate kiss first before settling down in the small garden where they apprehended Jonah's goons the night before.

And there Aaron explained the mission Ma'Heron gave him… more like forced him to do, actually…

"WHAT THE HELL I'LL FUCKING KILL HIM!" she screeched furiously as she stood up, ready to run back to her house to confront her big brother.

And at that same moment, they heard Siel's terrified scream from inside her house…

The two lovers stared at each other for half a second, fear and worry in their eyes, and they rushed together through the door…

"SIEL! What's happening?!"

"V! What's wrong, dude!"